Christmas in Boston (2005 TV Movie) User Reviews (11)

Well

[Christmas-Reviewer · 7/10 · 22 November 2017]

I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 400 (C H R I S T M A S ) MOVIES AND SPECIALS.

BEWARE OF BOGUS REVIEWS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW. WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCTION. NOW I HAVE NO AGENDA! I AM HONEST! I REVIEW MOVIES & SPECIALS AS A WAY TO KEEP TRACK OF WHAT I HAVE SEEN!

Lifelong pen pals (Marla Sokoloff, Patrick J. Adams) send their best friends to pose as them when the opportunity arises for a face-to- face meeting.

Now Marla has done many Christmas films. This one is her best. She is very likable in this film and you are pulling for her. The Christmas Setting makes this movie almost like a Fairy Tale.

Very watchable and enjoyable. The film never lags and the pace is just right. Watch it under the blanket with a nice cup of Jot Chocolate

Cute little Christmas rom-com

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 10 December 2014]

Gina (Marla Sokoloff) and Seth (Patrick J. Adams) have been pen pals since a school assignment 13 years ago. They agree not to talk on the phone and both sent pictures of their best friends as themselves. Seth is now a toy company junior executive and Gina writes for the newspaper obituary. Then she's given a Christmas assignment to write about a toy conference. She reluctantly accepts fearing that she must mean Seth in person. She convinces her best friend Ellen (Lindy Booth) to see Seth as her. Unbeknownst to her, Seth has done the same thing with his womanizing best friend Matt (Jonathan Cherry). Meanwhile Gina is writing a story about Seth trying to hide his boss dating the owner of another toy company as well as his company's impending IPO. Only both Gina and Seth are pretending to be their best friends; Ellen and Matt.

This is a nice easy sitcom switcharoo TV movie for Christmas. The story is a little silly but it has a charm. This works because Marla Sokoloff and Patrick Adams are adorably cute together. She is a cutie pie who excels at being flustered. He is charming enough that he doesn't become a jerk after finding out the secret. The production is low budget but effective.

A Christmas story

[jotix100 · 7/10 · 22 August 2008]

Gina and Seth have been corresponding for thirteen years. Their friendship started in school when they entered a program of pen pals. They have never seen each other, both are shy people that hide behind their letters, at first, then behind computers, writing endless emails and instant messages about their daily lives. The only thing is neither of them has been true to the other.

Gina has sent pictures of her friend Ellen to Seth, making him believe she is the other person. Seth, also has been deceitful in that he has passed his best friend Matt's picture as being himself. When the opportunity arises that at last the corresponding friends would have a chance to meet face to face, they panic. The real reason for trying to hide behind their friends' persona is because they are desperately in love with one another.

"Christmas in Boston", also known as "Instant Message" in some countries, is a pleasant film to sit through because of the work Neill Fearnley has been able to create with the help of his young cast of appealing young actors. This is a small television made film that is better than one expected it to be. The case of mistaken identities work to bring the correspondents and their best friends together unwillingly.

Marla Sokoloff and Patrick J. Adams, who appear as Gina and Seth, are fresh faces that project a wholesome glow on the film. The multi talented Lindy Booth runs away with the film though. Her Ellen provides Ms. Booth with an opportunity to shine. As she proved with her work in previous work, and in "Dark Honeymoon", Ms. Booth is a natural and a welcome addition to any project. Jonathan Cherry rounds up the cast and has also excellent moments to shine.

As Christmas movies go, this one is to be enjoyed because of the good job Mr. Fearnley did with the material.

See you under the moon.

[MyMovieTVRomance · 7/10 · 28 December 2021]

Started watching this on Christmas night, and was immediately reminded of how much I love writing letters to my special someone, thinking of her the whole time. It really hit home with how bonded two people can become through letters.

Recommended for fans of "You've Got Mail" (1998) and "The Love Letter" (1998).

I loved the "Wizard of Oz" references in the film, which were so unexpected- and they ended up serving as a sign to me when I later that night saw "The Wizard of Oz" trending on Twitter- confirmation of my own successful love journey coming. And the moon at the end bringing everything full-circle was another major sign to me.

This is not the best of its kind, but it's a sweet movie that had meaning for me in several ways. Glad I watched on Christmas!

ABC "Family" Movie????

[recycledforms · 1/10 · 17 December 2012]

This is supposed to be an ABC "Family" movie... and it's rated "G"??? I should not EVER have to fast forward through SEX scenes in a Christmas / Family movie!!! What is wrong with you people??? Sex, Sex, Sex is NOT Appropriate for my 8 year old little girl! "Babes with short skirts", "Edible Underwear"; what kind of sad, horrible, miserable excuse for a human being believes that these quotes belong in a Family, or a Christmas movie? I am totally Disgusted!!! They absolutely ruined this movie! It had a lot of potential, but they had to pervert Christmas, and the wholesome love story that was in there. Wake up people… You don't have to put sex in every movie to sell it. "Sex Sells" is not always true. As a matter of fact, I am returning this movie, and demanding my money back!

I just noticed that on the case underneath ABC Family it says "a different kind of family". In the future I'll take notice of this, and know that this is not a movie for me and my "traditional kind of family".

Perfect Movie for the Christmas Season

[Dontcallmekeys · 10/10 · 29 June 2006]

"Christmas in Boston" is exactly the sort of movie you would expect to see during the holiday season: it features an unrequited love story, two adorably dorky star-crossed lovers and their wilder but well-meaning pals, a case of mistaken identity and, of course, the Christmas spirit.

Gina and Seth have been communicating through e-mails, letters and IMs for 13 years, promising never to phone one another and never wanting to meet. They're both too nervous about what the other will think of them to want to meet face-to-face. But when Seth's work brings him to Boston and Gina's journalist career puts her in the path to meet Seth for the first time, they both go to great lengths to avoid one another. Of course, the avoidance isn't too difficult, seeing as, for years, Gina has been sending Seth pictures of her best friend Ellen, while Seth has been giving her pictures of his buddy Matt. With a little convincing, Matt and Ellen pretend to be their friends and meet thinking the other is the real deal. Sparks fly, of course, after Ellen and Matt hit it off, which send both Gina and Matt into a fit of despair. They can't imagine someone else with the man/woman of their dreams, but neither of them bother to stop Ellen and Matt's relationship from progressing. When Seth finds meets the real Gina and discovers that the girl Matt is actually a stand-in, he is more then willing to let Matt have Ellen and try and form a relationship with Gina, though he is still unable to let her know that he's really Seth.

While the plot is predictable and the ending obvious from the very beginning, "Christmas in Boston" is still enjoyable to watch. The writing is mediocre and witty at times, better then most made for television movies and the actors, most of them stuck in the purgatory of not undiscovered but not a household name, are charming and believable and play their characters to a T.

Though "Christmas in Boston" will probably disappear into the recesses of the minds of those who saw it last year, it is a movie worth seeing and hopefully ABC Family will reair it during the Christmas season or even release it on DVD in order to make a profit. I was fortunate to tape the movie and still find myself watching it in the middle of June because the adorable (though clichéd) love story and humorous one-liners are appealing no matter what the season.

I thoroughly recommend "Christmas in Boston", though it might be a little difficult to see the movie in the middle of the summer. Hopefully, during the upcoming Christmas season "Christmas in Boston" will find a place in ABC Family's Christmas schedule, allowing viewers to add a little holiday spirit to their day.

Christmas rage

[emiidineva · 1/10 · 8 January 2022]

Couldn't stand the movie, what woman would wilingly give the love of their life to the redhead bimbo next door? In what world does this plot happen? Is Gina of sound mind? Horrible, terrible, the worst of the worst. Don't watch this movie if you even slightly know of male and female relationship and friendship dynamics, you will hate every minute of the stupid plot.

The actors are fairly good, that's the only positive thing worth noting.

Cute

[bard-32 · 10/10 · 16 December 2007]

Christmas in Boston is, in a word, cute. It's the story of Gina, Seth, Matt, and Ellen. Gina and Seth have been pen pals for ten years. He lives in Denver and she lives in Boston. Gina's friend, and next door neighbor, Ellen, is a perky, rambunctious, redhead. Seth is an executive of a major toy company, Toy Matters, in Denver, Colorado, and Gina's a newspaper reporter in Boston. She's assigned to cover a big toy conference being held in Boston. Gina tells Ellen that the pictures she's been sending Seth are of her. Meanwhile, Seth and Matt arrive in Boston, and settle in at their hotel. Seth tells Matt that the pictures he's been sending Gina, are, you guessed it, of him. So Ellen poses as Gina, Gina poses as Ellen, Matt poses as Seth, and Seth poses as Matt. Are you with me so far? I hope so. Gina meets Seth at the toy conference. The presidents of Toy Matters and a rival toy company, are having an affair. She has a nice story to break but doesn't because she's falling for Seth, who's pretending to be Matt. Ellen, who's pretending to be Gina, is falling for Matt, who's pretending to be Seth. Remind you of anything? Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors, perhaps? What happens next? That's for me to know and you to find out.

Gina & Seth are Under the Moon, and the Writers & Directors are under the influence.

[licensetocurl · 4/10 · 26 December 2014]

Just finished watching this, and let me tell you one thing: this movie has it all:

Christmas[*]

Love[*]

Marla Sokoloff[*]

Patrick J. Adams[*]

Obnoxious Scenes and Stupid Jokes[*]

Terrible Acting[*]

Horrendous Writing[*]

Dumb, meaningless motifs[*]

Two people making out while covered in chocolate sauce[*]

Deep-sounding philosophical dialogues that make no sense[*]

They really didn't leave anything out, the directors nailed this one.

SPOILER ALERT***

This movie spoiled my day

I still gave this four stars, because this movie should still satisfy a target audience: deaf people, and people that enjoy watching 'The Room'. Patrick J. Adams was pretty good though.

Wonderful

[nicole_ward · 9/10 · 11 December 2011]

I found this film, looking through a list of Christmas films for me to watch. I am so happy that I found this and went on to watch it! It wasn't as 'Christmassy' as I had been looking for, but it certainly was a brilliant film! I recommend you watch it, especially if you are a sucker for a bit of romance. This film made me feel warm inside, and it did start to put me in the Christmas mood!

The storyline is different than normal romance, which makes it fresh. To make it better, it has the love of Christmas in there too! If you are wanting a complete Christmas film (Santa, Christmas day etc)then you should probably not watch this film. However, if you want a film based around Christmas with the centre storyline being romantic then this film is perfect for you!

The only criticism I would have of this film would be that I think there should have been more to the ending (I won't say more, as I don't want to ruin the film).

It's films like this that don't get the attention they deserve. I really hope people go and watch this film, it really will be worth your time!

Nice plot with lots of confusion

[Jackbv123 · 10/10 · 21 January 2017]

This plot was so great for a Christmas romance. The hanging lie is a pretty common plot line for a romance, but this one kept evolving. By the end of the movie, the situation was so twisted it was great. I wondered what happened to the Christmas tree, but then when it showed up, it still left the question of where had it been if Seth was staying in a hotel. Marla S was good and sweet and everything you want in a family romance for Christmas. Meanwhile Lindy Booth was great in a sexy way. I thought the guy who played the real Matt was a little too crude for being Seth's friend and also being able to appeal to Gina or even Ellen if she was such a good friend of Gina. Still, I can't believe how enjoyable this was for a TV movie.